Winvic Construction has reached practical completion of a 25.5-acre logistics park – Net Zero Carbon in construction – in Leighton Buzzard for commercial property developer, Firethorn Trust. The Ascent Logistics Park project comprised preparatory civils and infrastructure works and the construction of eight industrial units.
Winvic started on site and completed the speculative facilities – ranging from 14,533 sq ft to 125,510 sq ft – in less than 12 months. All facilities comprise single storey office accommodation, which has been fitted out to Cat A standard. Externally, as well as drainage and service connections, Winvic created generous outdoor amenity spaces with expansive landscaping, and dedicated cycle and pedestrian routes to help encourage healthy lifestyles for the people who will work at the Park.
The project achieved BREEAM ‘Excellent’ and EPC ‘A’ as well as WELL Ready accreditation – which was a client preferred scheme that Winvic had the in-house skills and capability to deliver to – and has a 5 per cent PV array.
Net Zero Carbon construction was realised through a number of processes and measures across the areas of site set up, material efficiencies, Winvic’s Green Supply Chain and team education. Crucially, Winvic sets itself apart from most of its competitors by measuring the carbon output for the whole project – not just from the base build up – therefore including all earthworks, drainage and foundation works in its measurements.
A 30 per cent reduction on the original brief was achieved against the base specification.
- Measurement – Winvic used One Click LCA carbon footprint assessment software to measure the output alongside its own Carbon Calculator – AI System for Predicting Embodied Carbon in Construction (ASPEC) – which is in development.
- Research – undertaken throughout the design and construction phase to uncover like-for-like materials with a less intensive carbon footprint.
- Working local – materials local to the development were sourced, for example stone from a local quarry, as well as local labour.
- Green Supply Chain – Winvic is working collaboratively with its green suppliers list, especially for carbon reduction measures and initiatives which deal with carbon reduction against the A1 – A3 criteria in line with UKGBC framework.
- Offsetting – the remaining carbon on the project has been offset against Gold or VCS standard schemes, focusing a 33 percent split across ecology, social value and renewables, including like-for-like tree planting in the UK to overseas.
So that, the cut and plateau creation could be undertaken safely, the site required Winvic to deliver various solutions for the challenging ground conditions and differentials in levels. Also, intensive management of vehicle movement was required, especially due to the environmental aims of the project. The site is split by a watercourse but the bridge to connect the areas hadn’t yet been constructed by the development consortium. The distance between the two zones was just 300 metres, but the journey was three-miles in reality, so planning was essential to avoid superfluous trips.
Winvic has also started on site to deliver another Net Zero Carbon scheme for Firethorn Trust at Link Logistics Park in Ellesmere Port, comprising of two industrial units spanning 107,506 sq ft and 664,225 sq ft.
Danny Nelson, Winvic’s Director of Industrial, Distribution and Logistics, said: “I’m extremely pleased we have delivered this Net Zero Carbon project in a very short space of time – it’s an achievement for the whole team to remember and be proud of. The fact that Firethorn Trust has contracted Winvic for a second project that is carbon neutral in its construction illustrates their team has been impressed by our industrial sector experience, sustainability expertise, problem solving attitude, and delivery approach, and is therefore confident we can bring another vision to life. Firethorn’s presence in the UK logistics market continues to grow and I trust our relationship will continue to flourish.”
Paul Martin, Development Director at Firethorn Trust, added: “Every Firethorn development is delivered to the highest standard, with a focus on creating modern, sustainable and flexible logistics solutions for our occupiers, to effectively respond to burgeoning market demand. This has been reflected in the strong level of interest we have had in Ascent Logistics Park, with 50% of units now successfully let.
“We continue to be impressed by Winvic’s expertise and ability to help us realise Firethorn’s vision to deliver a highly-sustainable scheme to an excellent specification, and it has been a pleasure working with the team to bring this project to completion.”
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